1 . The Best Language for Math

What’s the best language for learning math? Hint: You’re not reading it.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean use simpler number words and express math concepts more clearly than English. The language gap is drawing growing attention as confusing English number words have been linked in several studies to weaker counting and arithmetic skill in children in English-speaking countries.

    1     Among the researchers are Karen Fuson, a professor in the School of Education at Northwestern University, and Li Yeping, an expert on Chinese math education at Texas A&M University.

Chinese has just nine number words, while English has more than two dozen. The trouble starts at “11”. English has a unique word for the number, while Chinese (as well as Japanese and Korean, among other languages) have words that can be translated as “ten-one” – spoken with the “ten” first.     2    

English number words over 10 don’t as clearly label place values. Number words for the teens reverse the order of the ones and “teens”, making it easy for children to confuse, say, 17 with 71. As a result, children working with English number words have a harder time doing multi-digit addition and subtraction (减法)     3    

It also feels more natural for Chinese speakers than for English speakers to use the “make-a-ten” addition and subtraction strategy. When adding two numbers, students break down the numbers into parts and regroup them into tens and ones. For instance, 9 plus 5 becomes 9 plus 1 plus 4.     4    Many teachers in America have increased instruction in the make-a-ten method and called for first-graders to use it to add and subtract.

Now, you should feel lucky that you are learning math in China. Thanks to your mother tongue, all math problems just come less confusing and difficult to you!

A．So it’s not easy for English speakers to label place values clearly.

B．The additional mental steps needed to solve problems cause more errors.

C．Differences between Chinese and English, in particular, have been studied for decades.

D．This method is a powerful tool for solving more advanced multi-digit addition and subtraction problems.

E．Different languages indicate different ways of thinking, causing people to solve math problems differently.

F．That makes it easier for children to understand the place value as well as making it clear that the number system is based on units of 10.

2 . Gone are the days when big businesses were looked upon by environmentalists as enemies in the fight against global warming.

Just two weeks after U. S. President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the Paris Climate Agreement, more than 900 American firms put their _______to a “We Are Still In” open letter to the United Nations. Together, they promise to help reduce America’s carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2025, _______the Paris Climate Agreement.

_______, big businesses have been taking climate change seriously for years now. Alongside energy-efficiency measures, the strongest evidence of their _______has been the number of new wind and solar projects that they have been helping to build around the world. IT firms such as Amazon and Google have been using clean energy to power their servers (服务器). Some environmentalists now believe that big businesses could become strong _______behind the worldwide spread of renewable energy. “There used to be little action,” says Marty Spitzer of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “Now, I see fundamental _______being made.”

More recently, this enthusiasm for environmental protection has _______from corporate headquarters to branches and suppliers, and from developed countries to emerging markets. Take Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, for example. In March 2016, it said that it would require its own operations and those along its _______chain to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by one billion tons by 2030. This is _______to taking 211 million passenger cars off America’s roads for a year. The announcement was ________by the WWF and other conservation organizations, which are helping Walmart’s suppliers work towards this goal. Apple, maker of the iPhone, has said that seven of its biggest global manufacturers have promised to power their Apple-related ________with renewable energy by the end of this year.

According to the WWF, in the United States alone, nearly two dozen of the biggest firms have committed themselves to becoming 100 percent renewable in the near future. Hervé Touati of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a clean-energy research firm, explains the ________behind this trend. Going green improves the companies’ public image and helps attract customers, staff and investors.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer (啤酒公司), has lots of young people among its many ________. Many of them take environmental issues seriously. Electricity, used ________in the brewing process, amounts to a tenth of its total costs. Last year, the company set out to increase the role of renewables in generating ________to 100 percent by 2025. “My generation often takes energy and clean air for granted,” said Tony Milikin, the firm’s chief sustainability officer. “The generation coming up now looks at it totally differently.”

1.

A．posters

B．innovations

C．names

D．donations

2.

A．for fear of

B．by means of

C．in line with

D．on account of

3.

A．In fact

B．On average

C．By contrast

D．In addition

4.

A．assessment

B．commitment

C．argument

D．attachment

5.

A．predictors

B．features

C．cases

D．forces

6.

A．changes

B．profits

C．mistakes

D．differences

7.

A．transferred

B．ranged

C．processed

D．extended

8.

A．food

B．store

C．supply

D．data

9.

A．opposite

B．equivalent

C．accustomed

D．second

10.

A．criticized

B．issued

C．welcomed

D．underlined

11.

A．content

B．accounts

C．activities

D．production

12.

A．inspirations

B．motivations

C．destinations

D．functions

13.

A．manufacturers

B．investors

C．customers

D．administrators

14.

A．considerably

B．skillfully

C．economically

D．occasionally

15.

A．heat

B．wind

C．water

D．power

5 . From Oxford’s quads to Harvard Yard and many a steel and glass palace of higher education in between, exams are given way to holidays. As students consider life after graduation, universities are _______ questions about their own future. The higher education model of lecturing, cramming and examination has barely _______ for centuries. Now, three disruptive waves are threatening to shake established ways of teaching and learning.

On one front, a funding _______ has created a shortage of fund that the universities brightest brains are struggling to solve. Institutions’ costs are rising, _______ pricey investments in technology, teachers’ salaries and increasing administrative costs. That comes as governments conclude that they can no longer afford to subsidize universities as _______ as they used to. American colleges, in particular, are under pressure: some analysts predict mass bankruptcies within two decades.

At the same time, a(n) _______ revolution is challenging higher education’s business model. A(n) _______ in online learning, much of it free, means that the knowledge once a lucky few had access to has been released to anyone with a smartphone or laptop. These _______ and technological disruptions coincide with a third great change: whereas universities used to educate only a tiny elite, they are now _______ training and retraining workers throughout their careers. How will they ________ this storm—and what will emerge in their place if they don’t?

The universities least likely to lose out to online competitors are elite institutions with established reputations and low student-to-tutor ratios. That is ________ news for the Ivy League, which offer networking opportunities to students alongside a degree. Those colleges might profit from expanding the ratio of online learning to classroom teaching, lowering their costs while still offering the prize of a college education conducted partly on campus.

The most vulnerable, according to Jim Lerman of Kean University in New Jersey, are the “middle-tier institutions, which produce America's teachers, middle managers and administrators.” They could be ________ in greater part by online courses, he suggests. So might weaker community colleges, although those which cultivate connections to local employers might yet prove resilient (有弹力的).

Since the first wave of massive online courses launched in 2012, an opposition has focused on their ________ and commercial uncertainties. Yet if critics think they are immune to the march of the MOOC, they are almost certainly wrong. Whereas online courses can quickly________ their content and delivery mechanisms, universities are up against serious cost and efficiency problems, with little changes of taking more from the public purse.

Without the personal touch, higher education could become “an icebound, petrified (石化的) cast-iron university.” That is what the new wave of high-tech courses should not become. But as a(n) ________ to an overstretched, expensive model of higher education, they are more likely to prosper than fade.

1.

A．answering

B．facing

C．settling

D．guessing

2.

A．reviewed

B．existed

C．substituted

D．changed

3.

A．situation

B．trend

C．crisis

D．relief

4.

A．owing to

B．apart from

C．except for

D．rather than

5.

A．patiently

B．generously

C．naturally

D．ignorantly

6.

A．technological

B．professional

C．educational

D．geographical

7.

A．difference

B．emphasis

C．harmony

D．explosion

8.

A．fundamental

B．administrative

C．financial

D．psychological

9.

A．responsible for

B．eager for

C．curious about

D．enthusiastic about

10.

A．observe

B．chase

C．witness

D．survive

11.

A．shocking

B．good

C．annoying

D．neutral

12.

A．promoted

B．replaced

C．maintained

D．marketed

13.

A．failure

B．projects

C．innovation

D．progress

14.

A．resist

B．release

C．adjust

D．resemble

15.

A．object

B．relation

C．implication

D．alternative

6 . There are often many assumptions made about young people aged 15 to 21, but only a few can be proved with hard evidence. Now, new research has been published to help people get a better idea of these _________ young people.

According to an international survey in 2016, young people in emerging (新兴的) economies like China and India have a _________sense of hope about the future, compared with those living in Europe, North America and Australia.

The survey was _________ between September and October by the Varkey Foundation, a UK-based non-profit organization. It surveyed 20,000 young people who were born between 1995 to 2001 in 20 countries. They were asked questions about their hopes, ambitions, personal views and community values.

It was found that 53 percent of those questioned in China thought the world was becoming a better place – the highest percentage among the countries surveyed. Some 93 percent of them also felt _________ for the future because of advances in technology, such as in medicine, renewable energy and computing.

Indian youth were the second most_________, with 49 percent taking a positive view of the world’s prospects.

_________, young people in France, Italy and Turkey had the most negative outlook on the future, with fears about extremism and the rise of global terrorism.

“At a time of nationalist and populist (民粹主义的) movements (such as Brexit (脱欧) or US President Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall along the US border) that focus on the _________between people, the evidence shows that young people share a _________ similar view of the world,” Vikas Pota, chief executive of the Varkey Foundation, told The Guardian.

“They are a generation that is deeply _________ about the future of the world,” he added.

As for young people in China, what they __________ most is the impact of climate change — some 82 percent of those who responded to the__________ said so.

Pota said it was __________ that young people in China were aware how serious the problem of climate change is.

“This is surely a hopeful development. The young population of China is more aware than anyone of the seriousness of the climate crisis – and will be__________ for change,” he told South China Morning Post.

The overall survey showed a sense of optimism in the __________ and opinions of the generation that is likely to shape the next few decades, according to Pota.

“They are more likely to travel, to migrate across borders and to forge (建立) friendships in other countries than any __________ generation,” he said. “Global citizenship is not dead. It could just be getting started.”

1.

A．undereducated

B．misunderstood

C．overestimated

D．well-disciplined

2.

A．greater

B．fainter

C．simpler

D．safer

3.

A．enforced

B．operated

C．demonstrated

D．conducted

4.

A．hopeful

B．fearful

C．concerned

D．eager

5.

A．fantastic

B．realistic

C．optimistic

D．enthusiastic

6.

A．As a result

B．Without doubt

C．Beyond that

D．In contrast

7.

A．exchanges

B．agreements

C．differences

D．similarities

8.

A．routinely

B．traditionally

C．surprisingly

D．slightly

9.

A．pessimistic

B．optimistic

C．excited

D．passionate

10.

A．fear

B．suffer

C．consider

D．expect

11.

A．question

B．survey

C．attitude

D．movement

12.

A．amazing

B．encouraging

C．depressing

D．puzzling

13.

A．preparing

B．looking

C．pressing

D．waiting

14.

A．attitudes

B．emotions

C．dreams

D．interests

15.

A．original

B．present

C．next

D．previous

7 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Oscar Envelope

The shining Oscar statue is a celebrated symbol of the Academy Awards,but there is another symbol on the Oscars scene.

    1    (weigh) a quarter of a pound and seen by millions of viewers around the world, it’s the Oscar envelope. It bears, after all, the Oscar winner’s name. The golden envelope was initially developed as a safeguard     2     leaks to the media of the winners’ name. Yet the envelope holds some secrets of its own.

While 24 envelopes appear on the Academy Award telecast----one for the winner of each category, three sets are produced, totaling 72 envelopes. That’s because the two extra sets are emergency backups,     3         4     the first set gets delayed in its delivery.

The production team also construct 363 heavyweight cream color winner cards     5    (print) with all the nominees’ names. Yet the stuffing of the envelopes takes place outside of the studio, in a top-secret process     6    protects the Academy’s picks of the year until the formal presentation.

Although 72 envelopes are made,only one third of them     7     （make) it to the Oscar stage. The winner of each category takes home both a golden statue and the winning envelope, but the extra sets of envelopes    8     (destroy) .

＂The elimination is to prevent leftovers from appearing on some online stores or markets and    9    (preserve) the honor of the winners,"Mare Friedland, designer of the Oscars envelope said. "The value of each envelope as a souvenir is priceless. Hopefully a winner looking back at the envelope will recall that moment in time when     10     was watching, and the hosts announced in that particular second     11     the Oscar winner was.”

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct.
Hi, everyone.

Traditionally,     1     the year winds down, it’s a time for reflections—to give thanks, reconnect with loved ones, and cherish the more meaningful parts of life, removed from our usual day-to-day distractions.

Of course, the events of 2020 haven’t shown a lot of respect for our traditions. In a year of so much tragedy, it can be tough to give thanks when you’re doing your best to get by. And far too many of us will have to gather around a table with an empty chair, if we were able to gather together at all.

One thing, though, we can say about 2020 is that it forced us all to cherish what is most important, what’s most meaningful in our lives. To stop taking things for granted,     2     truly matters. To be grateful for what we have, and to be alive to the pain of those     3     (fortunate).

Throughout this challenging year, I’ve been moved, again and again, by the sacrifices so many were willing to make on behalf of others. The healthcare professionals who risked their lives to save ours. The workers who have kept our lights on and our shelves stocked, always essential to our economy, but finally     4     (recognize) for it. The protesters of every race and age who saw injustice in their streets and their institutions and demanded change. And the less heralded leaders, the quiet change-makers who saw need in their own communities and leapt to address it. They checked in on their neighbors, delivered food and PPE to seniors and those experiencing hardship, offered mental health support to those     5    (recover) from trauma.     6     holes this pandemic tore wide in our social fabric, these emerging leaders stepped forward to patch it up.

These are exactly the leaders Michelle and I started our Foundation to support. We always thought they     7     (lead) us into a bright future, if only we     8     empower them, connect them with each other, and give them a dose of inspiration when they needed it.

What we learned in 2020 is that these emerging leaders aren’t just building a brighter future, they’re safeguarding our present. In hard times, they are the ones who’ve given me solace. It’s     9     sacrifice in which I found hope. And as we begin to close the chapter on a difficult year with encouraging news on the horizon, it’s their leadership     10     will guide us today and tomorrow.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody.

—Quoted from Barack Obama’s Christmas speech in 2020